December 2015 ~ News, Events, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Fashion, Beauty, Inspiration and yes... Gossip! *Wink*

Igbos Have Acquired About 73 Percent Of Landed Properties In Abuja – el-Rufai

Igbos Have Acquired About 73 Percent Of Landed Properties In Abuja – el-Rufai

The Minister in charge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai over the weekend declared that Igbos have acquired about 73 percent of landed property in Abuja.
The Minister, who was addressing a gathering of Southeast elected officials also revealed how the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmadu Ali abused him for demolishing his house in Asokoro District in Abuja.

Speaking on a lighter mood, el-Rufai called on the Igbos to take Abuja as the sixth state of the southeast in view of their dominance of the real estate sector of the FCT.
He pointed out that such dominance explains why the Igbos appear to have been the worst victims of the demolition exercise in the territory.
For instance, he said “68 percent of the land allocations in the FCT belongs to the 19 northern states, but in actual land ownership, 73 percent belongs to the Igbos with the most aggressive in land ownership belonging to the indigenes of Anambra state, while Ebonyi lags behind.”

He also spoke of how the master plan of the Wuse market was distorted from 1800 lockup stores to a near aberration of 13,500 stores, which made movement in the market to become almost impossible.
He attributed the land ownership by the Igbos in Abuja to a measure of confidence that they have in the FCT project.
The Minister also attributed the rapid transformation of the city of Abuja to the Orkar coup of 1991 which forced the administration of General Ibrahim Babangida to quickly quit Lagos.
He explained that this singular action of the Babangida regime made the dream of Abuja as a seat of government to become real.
However, el-Rufai said that the most drastic decision that affected the total transformation of Abuja as a seat of government was the directive in 1996 by the regime of General Sani Abacha to transfer all federal ministries to the FCT.
Culled from The Sun, March 2007

The Boko Haram Sponsors’ Names Should Be Revealed Now- Dr Brimah

Editor’s note: It is common knowledge that one of the reasons why Boko Haram has not yet been defeated despite all the effort put by the Nigerian army is that it enjoys huge financial contributions both from the Nigerian and foreign sponsors.
The always has been a lot of suggestions about who is funding the deadly sect. Dr Peregrino Brimah claims that he

knows who is funding Boko Haram terrorists, and in the contribution to Naij.com he urges them to reveal the names for justice to finally prevail.

The war is not over yet

While we have received the announcement of the technical defeat of Boko Haram from the Nigerian government on the Christmas eve, we are obligated to advice Nigerian citizens to not release their breath yet and risk their lives in the known Boko Haram territories. Keep your guards up and be fully security-conscious as the end is near and approachable but not quite here.
We highly appreciate the work of the altruistic and truly patriotic civilian JTF, which has always remained the last line of defense, and the most reliable and consistent hope of the communities plagued by Boko Haram. Your vigilance in intercepting those food-flask bombs cannot be overestimated. The sacrifice you make, and those who have passed will never be forgotten.

**Boko Haram “moneybags” are still free**

While Boko Haram has been “technically” defeated, the danger is still here. If the public was not notified, not a single sponsor of Boko Haram has yet been arrested by the Nigerian security services and army. This is the root of the deadly tree, and until the root is killed, the tree will not be dead.

We would like to remind the Nigerian security services that the governor of Borno state and the head of the Northern States Governors Forum, Kashim Shettima, knows the sponsors of Boko Haram. He has mentioned on several occasions that he is keeping mute to protect them. We want the Nigerian army to make Kashim Shettima and others who know the sponsors talk. Dasuki has hinted that he knows the sponsors; so has the former president, Goodluck Jonathan. We all do believe they have handed over this information to the security services, and we also expect the top-level arrests before the December deadline.
It is time to put a lasting and permanent end to the menace that has affected all of us including the army, and turned some of us into beasts and walking dead. The stress has taken a permanent toll on our army; it needs counselors and medical therapy. The soldiers should not keep laying their lives down for us, and testing their physical and mental capacities while some people who have paid for this carnage still live happily.

The war against Boko Haram sponsors must start now

As important as the war against corruption are prosecuting the chief looters, and the war against Boko Haram and its main financiers and political sponsors, both Nigerian and foreign. Nigeria must urgently get to the bottom of it via identifying and executing its backers, not only to truly end the reign of terror and prevent its reoccurrence, but also to identify the reasons towards preventing similar situations in the future. The sponsors of Boko Haram must no longer be covered, and all those implicated in concealing their identities must be punished equally to the full extent of the law.
The military chiefs suspected in directly and indirectly supporting Boko Haram and its pogrom agenda along with the former NSA, Dasuki, must also be brought to book. We should have pity for the 100,000 dead and three million displaced suffering in the Borno winter right now. The Chibok girls and their families deserve justice; without justice there can never be peace.
It is another Christmas without our girls. Only God knows whether they will ever come back. But they are in the best hands – His. May He have mercy on them.
We thank the sacrifice of the soldiers in the battlefield. May the Good Lord bless you and reward you in the ways man cannot. Zaman Lafiya, Lafiya Dole!
God bless Nigeria.
Dr Peregrino Brimah is the coordinator of the Every Nigerian Do Something campaign.

International Friendly – Catalunya vs Basque: Lessons For Anti-Biafra Nigerians

International Friendly – Catalunya vs Basque: Lessons For Anti-Biafra Nigerians

By: Maduka Uche
Two secessionist states, Catalunya and Basque will be involved in international friendly football games for their men and women today, saturday December 26th 2015. These are two different nations fighting for separation from the Spanish state. No rancour, no envy, no bitterness.

Now my question is… Why does the issue of Biafra generate so much hatred, bitterness and wickedness in Nigeria? Why do certain people feel threatened whenever Biafra is mentioned? Why do Nigerians wish death on harmless and peaceful pro-Biafran protesters? Why can’t we learn from these Spaniards? Why is there so much hate in Nigeria?
Please mature contributions only. If you don’t have anything reasonable to say, just read and pass.
Uche Writes from Lagos

Chicago 'Black Christmas' protesters march against police violence

Several hundred protesters against police killings of black men marched on Thursday along Chicago's Michigan Avenue, calling for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step down and aiming to disrupt Christmas Eve shopping in a glittering, upscale commercial area.

The demonstration was peaceful, but after the main march concluded, police scuffled with a few dozen protesters who were trying to block the entrance to an H&M store and to obstruct traffic both ways on Michigan Avenue, a major thoroughfare.

During the march, demonstrators chanted "Sixteen shots and a cover-up," protesting the year-long delay in bringing murder charges against police officer Jason Van Dyke, who shot and killed Laquan McDonald in October 2014 as the black teenager walked away from police, according to footage of the incident.

Shoppers and tourists mostly took in their stride Thursday's protest, which was not as big as a 2,000-person march on "Black Friday" Nov. 27, which blocked traffic into several Michigan Avenue stores.

"I think it's a good reminder, especially on Christmas Eve, that it's not all about gifts and the commercialization of Christmas," said Barbara Hutchinson, 64, from St. Louis.

Americans held hostage in Iran win compensation, 36 years later

After spending 444 days in captivity, and more than 30 years seeking restitution, the Americans taken hostage at the United States Embassy in Tehran in 1979 have finally won compensation.

Buried in the huge spending bill signed into law last Friday are provisions that would give each of the 53 hostages or their estates up to $4.4 million.

Victims of other state-sponsored terrorist attacks such as the 1998 American Embassy bombings in East Africa would also be eligible for benefits under the law.

“I had to pull over to the side of the road, and I basically cried,” said Rodney V. Sickmann, who was a Marine sergeant working as a security guard at the embassy in Tehran when he was seized along with the other Americans by an angry mob that overran the compound on Nov. 4, 1979. “It has been 36 years, one month, 14 days, obviously, until President Obama signed the actual bill, until Iran was held accountable,” he said.

Rodney V. Sickmann

The law now stands to bring closure to a saga that riveted the nation and ruptured America’s ties with Iran. The very agreement that won the hostages’ release in 1981 barred them from seeking restitution. Their legal claims were repeatedly blocked in the courts, including an appeal denied by the Supreme Court. Congress tried but failed to pass laws granting them relief.

David M. Roeder

But this year, vindication came in a decision that forced the Paris-based bank BNP Paribas to pay a $9 billion penalty for violating sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba. Some of that money was suddenly available for victims of state-sponsored terrorism.

Some of the hostages were subject to physical and psychological torture during their long ordeal.

It is not clear, however, whether all the former hostages or their families will receive full payments. In large measure that is because the $4.4 million total authorized by Congress depends on the outcome of efforts to collect on judgments won in earlier court rulings involving victims of terrorist attacks, as well as on the number of victims who file claims.

The law authorizes payments of up to $10,000 per day of captivity for each of the 53 hostages, 37 of whom are still alive. Fifty-two hostages were released on Jan. 20, 1981; a 53rd hostage had been released earlier because of illness.

Spouses and children are authorized to receive a lump payment of as much as $600,000.

Mikel Obi and his twin girls watch TV

So adorable!

Tiwa Savage and Teebillz finally share photos of their son

Tiwa and her husband Teebillz yesterday unveiled the face of their 5 months old son, Jamil...He's so cute and looks like his mum...

Mikel Obi and his twin girls watch TV

So adorable!

Nigerians block a Turkish Airline Plane from leaving Abuja (Photos)

Passengers at the Abuja Airpot blocked a Turkish Airline plane from leaving the runway a day ago. Passengers who have been at the airport for over 5 days without their luggage, finally reacted by blocking one of their planes, which they say will not leave Abuja until a solution is presented.

The Passengers said they got no information, and no announcements were made and Nigerians were stranded with their luggage missing at their airport and this forced some to spend their Christmas there.

Photo Credit: @adesphur and @pendragonnnn

Flavour shares another adorable photo of his daughter

Flavour shares a picture of his adorable daughter with Anna Banner.

CHRISTIANS ARE VAMPIRES, WE’LL BAN CHRISTMAS AND EXPEL CHRISTIANS FROM ISRAEL- Benzion Gopstein

CHRISTIANS ARE VAMPIRES, WE’LL BAN CHRISTMAS AND EXPEL CHRISTIANS FROM ISRAEL- Benzion Gopstein
“Christmas has no place in the Holy Land”: Far-right Israeli leader wants to expel Christians and ban the holiday
Benzion Gopstein, head of hate group Lehava, said Christians are “vampires and blood suckers.”
Ben Norton

Topics: Meir Kahane, benzion gopstein, Christmas, Israel, jewish defense league, Lehava, News, Politics News
“Christmas has no place in the Holy Land”: Far-right Israeli leader wants to expel Christians and ban the holiday
Benzion Gopstein (Credit: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)
“Christmas has no place in the Holy Land,” insists Benzion Gopstein, the leader of a far-right Israeli group that has indirectly received support from the government.
According to Gopstein, Christians are “vampires and blood suckers” that must be expelled from Israel, the U.S.’ closest ally. “Let us remove the vampires before they once again drink our blood,” he wrote in a recent article on an ultra-Orthodox website.
Gopstein, a religious extremist also known as “Benzi,” calls “the Christian Church” Jews’ “deadly enemy for hundreds of years,” which has used “the maximum tools at its disposal to destroy the Jewish people.”
He laments that the “disgust” for Christianity “has disappeared with the ‘good life’ of the democratic age.”
Leading Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Gopstein’s remarks. It also noted that the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism and the Coalition Against Racism have asked the government to investigate.
Gopstein has a long history on the far-right of Israeli politics. In the past, he has publicly insisted that setting fire to Christian churches in Israel is justified.

His group Lehava, whose name is a Hebrew acronym for “Preventing Assimilation in the Holy Land,” has frequently been called “fascist” and “radical right-wing.”
Lehava is infamous for violently harassing and threatening Israeli Arabs who are in relationships with Israeli Jews. In the name of fighting “harassment,” the far-right group created racist beach patrols in order to prevent Jewish women from interacting with Arab men.
Its members have also set fire to and vandalized the few remaining bilingual Hebrew-Arabic schools in Israel, and yet are often not charged with hate crimes.
The group has additionally organized boycotts of businesses that employ Palestinians, and has protested against Jews who rent housing in Israel to Palestinians.
Holocaust survivors have warned that Lehava reminds them of the horrors of fascism they experienced.
Many of the group’s members, including Gopstein, are followers of Meir Kahane, an Israeli-American fascist leader who founded the extremist Jewish Defense League, which is considered a “right-wing terrorist group” by the U.S. government and a “radical organization that preaches a violent form of anti-Arab, Jewish nationalism” by leading hate group monitor the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Isaac Herzog, leader of Israel’s centrist opposition party the Zionist Union, has called Lehava a “Jewish terrorist organization.”
Posts on Gopstein’s Facebook page include pictures of some of the few Arab lawmakers there are in Israel that were photoshopped to look like they are being hanged.
Far-right Israeli-American extremist Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Muslim civilians and injured 125 more at the religious site the Cave of the Patriarchs in Israel in 1994. Lehava and other radical right-wing Israeli organizations consider Goldstein — who, like them, was a follower of Kahane — a hero. At a 2010 ceremony honoring the mass murderer, whom the Israeli government considers a terrorist, the Lehava leader said Goldstein “avenged the enemies of the Jews. We are here to honor his legacy.”

Nnamdi Kanu: Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria Blasts Buhari, NBA, NASS

Nnamdi Kanu: Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria Blasts Buhari, NBA, NASS

Vexed by the persistent disrespect of various orders of the courts of competent jurisdiction directing President Muhammadu Buhari to free unconditionally and immediately leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, from the detention facility of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has criticised President Buhari for dragging Nigeria back to the military dictatorship.

It warned him that his plot to institutionalise totalitarianism would be actively resisted.
HURIWA, a pro-democracy non-governmental organisation, also carpeted the National Assembly and the national leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for do nothing while President Buhari flagrantly violates subsisting and binding court orders.
In a statement signed jointly by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said the silence of strategic stakeholders to the consistent rape of the constitution by President Buhari is disgraceful and reprehensible just as the group said it was heroic that the judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja reportedly stayed away from an illegal arraignment of Kanu by the federal government on treasonable felony charges when in fact President Buhari has committed high treason by refusing to obey a clear and binding order of the Federal High Court.

HURIWA said: “ President Buhari stands absolutely condemned for his shameful act of disrespect of the court system which is granted the constitutional judicial powers of the federation. This show of shame will have adverse consequences on the international image of Nigeria because civilised people around the world would view Nigeria as a Banana Republic whereby the political leadership have no regard whatsoever to the rule of law.”

Don Jazzy's dad takes a pic with his very cute grandson

Don Jazzy's father with one of his grandsons. The cute lil man is the son of Don Jazzy's younger brother, James Collins, aka Jay Mavin. He's so handsome.

Graphic photos: Two die after car falls off bridge along Lokoja-Abuja road

2 people were killed and two others injured after the vehicle they were driving in fell off Akwaita bridge on Yangoji-Abaji segment of the Lokoja-Abuja road. The corpses have been deposited at a morgue in Kogi state while those that were injured have been taken to a hospital where they are receiving medical attention. More photos after the cut...

Dasuki to spend Christmas in Kuje prison

Former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki will be spending the Christmas holiday in Kuje prison following his inability to meet the N250 million bail conditions for two separate trials he is facing. Dasuki is standing trial for 32-count charge of money laundering and a 19 count charge of N9.6 billion fraud. Two Federal high courts granted him N250 million bail in two separate applications last week.

Two Burmese men sentenced to death for the Thailand backpacker murders

Two Burmese migrants have been sentenced to death after they were found guilty of the brutal murders of two British backpackers in Thailand.

The bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found in September 2014 on a Koh Tao beach in the Gulf of Thailand that is popular with divers.

Police said Witheridge, 23, was found bludgeoned to death and had been raped. Miller, 24, also suffered blows to his head before being drowned in the sea.

At a court in Koh Samui on Thursday, three judges found Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun guilty of murder and rape and ordered that they face the death penalty.

The family of David Miller - who had said they wanted to see "justice done fairly and openly" - attended the hearing but relatives of Hannah Witheridge did not travel to Thailand for the verdicts.

David's brother Michael, flanked by parents Ian and Sue, said outside court: "We believe the result today represents justice for David and Hannah.

"David always stood up for justice and justice is what has been delivered today. We respect this court and it's decision completely. "It is our opinion that the evidence against Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin is absolutely overwhelming.

"They raped to satisfy their selfish desires and murdered to cover up that fact. They have shown no remorse during the trial. We believe the correct verdict has been reached."

The mothers of the two defendants burst into tears after the verdicts and emerged from court as Michael finished the family's statement.

The verdict follows an investigation and trial that was mired in controversy, including allegations of police incompetence, mishandling of evidence and torture of the suspects.

Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, migrant workers from neighbouring Burma who were working on the island, were arrested after weeks of pressure on authorities to solve the crime.

Both defendants, aged 22, initially confessed to the killings but later retracted these statements, saying they had been tortured. Police denied using force during their interrogation.

Prosecutors said the DNA evidence, collected from cigarette butts, a condom and the bodies of the victims, links the two men to the killings.

Migrant workers often face discrimination in Thailand and have been used as scapegoats for crimes in the past.

Allegations by defence lawyers of police incompetence and evidence of mishandling have dominated the trial, which began in July and ended in October after 21 days of witness hearings.

Thai police were widely accused of bungling the investigation, including failing to close off the island quickly and allowing potential suspects to escape.

A debate over DNA samples that police say link the two suspects to Witheridge's body has been at the heart of the trial.

Defence lawyers had asked to retest crucial DNA samples taken from the victims' bodies but authorities issued conflicting statements on DNA evidence and, at one point, said that it had been used up.

No independent re-testing of DNA evidence had been done in the case.

Source: UK Mirror

Photos: Aisha Buhari, Iara Oshiomhole at the gathering of social media agents

Wife of President Buhari, Aisha Buhari hosted a dinner for Social Media Change agents at the State House, Abuja on December 22. First Lady of Bauchi State Hajiya Hadiza Abubakar and Mama Taraba, Senator Aisha Alhassan, Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development were all there.
See more photos from the event after the event...

Beware of campaign of calumny by Members of Islamic Movement of Nigeria'- Nigerian Army

Press release by Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, Acting Director Army Public Relations on Dec. 23.

"The Nigerian Army is aware of clandestine campaign of calumny and misinformation on the incident of 12 December 2015 in Zaria by a group of high ranking members of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) led by one Doctor Abdullahi Danladi, a Lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.

Earlier today he was at the University soliciting for support and telling lies about the circumstances surrounding the incident and the incident itself. He also went further to make false and unfounded allegations of casualty figures and desecration of burial grounds. It is preposterous and shows lack of concern and respect for peace and tranquility.

So much as the Nigerian Army has reported the matter before the appropriate agencies and action is being taken, it would not sit back and allow some mischievous elements in the society to further create unnecessary tension and disaffection in the society.
This attitude will not be tolerated where people abuse their privileged position to mislead the public, create disaffection.

Therefore, Nigerians and indeed all well meaning people are please enjoined to be patient and await the outcome of the various enquiries instituted by various government and Non-governmental agencies.

Additionally, Doctor Abdullahi Danladi and like minded individuals should be warned to desist from telling lies and misrepresentation of facts capable of misleading the general public"

A cry for help from 10yr old Anita whose dad is in Dubai jail

10 year old Anita Emmanuel is begging the Dubai government to release her dad who has been in Dubai prison for over 7 years now for drug related charges

Femi Falana calls for prosecution of Buratai, others over Army/Shiite attack

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has called on President Buhari to prosecute the Chief of Army staff Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai and the soldiers that partook in the shooting of Shiite members during a clash with the Islamic group in Zaria, Kaduna state on Saturday December 12th.

In a statement released yesterday December 23rd, Falana said the Nigerian military has refused the injured Shiite members access to their personal physicians and family members...

"Assuming that the Shi’ite members actually blocked the road, why was the nuisance not reported to the police? Are the authorities of the Nigerian Army above the law of the land? The army authorities have refused to release the bodies of those who were massacred to their families for burial while the personal physicians of the injured ones and their family members have been denied access to them. The suspects were refused bail by the Magistrate who ordered that they be remanded in prison custody. Although Sheik El-Zakzaky is reported to have been transferred from a military custody to a police station, he has been denied access to his personal physicians and lawyers".

Falana stressed that "In Chief Gani Fawehinmi v. General Sani Abacha (1996) 5 NWLR (PT 447) 198 at 202, the Court of Appeal ordered the Attorney-General of Federation, Inspector-General of Police and the operatives of the State Security Services to allow the wife and personal physicians of the appellant, a political detainee, to have access to him in prison custody ‘at all reasonable times.’ In requesting the Inspector-General of Police to allow access to the detainees his attention ought to be drawn to Section 14(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act which provides as follows: A person who has the custody of an arrested suspect shall give the suspect reasonable facilities for obtaining legal advice, access to communication for taking steps to furnish bail, and otherwise making arrangements for his defence or release.'”

He called on the Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase to allow the Shiite leader, his wife and members of his group, access to their families, personal physicians, and legal practitioners as empowered by the Law.

“Having undertaken to end impunity in the country, President Buhari should ensure that the Chief of Army Staff and all the soldiers who took part in the violent attack and arson in Zaria are brought to book without any further delay.”